Public Lecture: Critical Heritage. Reflections on the Brandenburg Forts on Ghana’s Coast; Speaker: Sarah Dornhof

MIASA Conference Room, 5th March 2024

Abstract

This presentation considers European forts and trading posts on Ghana’s coast from a critical heritage perspective and in the context of artistic approaches. The focus is on the Brandenburg sites in the Western Region, Fort Gross Friedrichsburg and the ruins of the Dorothea trading post (Dorothenschanze), two sites built in the 1680s for the trading activities of the Brandenburg African Company. The critical heritage perspective looks at how the legacy of these forts, related to trade, slavery and colonial expansion, evolves in an ongoing process of negotiation and conflict between different interests and visions. How do people refer to the forts’ heritage from different positions and how can questions relating to heritage be used to productively address complex, interwoven histories and silences? This presentation aims to extend a critical perspective on heritage to the realm of art and reflect on its potential to address heritage issues in more plural, creative and speculative forms.

Sarah Dornhof is a postdoctoral researcher at the Humboldt University Berlin. She received her PhD in cultural studies and works at intersections between memory studies, contemporary art, and postcolonial theory. Her current research examines relationships between art and memory practices.